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Booked my flight to Ontario August 29, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : travel , add a comment

I just booked my flight to Ontario, and I’m SO glad that I waited to book it. Instead of paying $675, I’m now paying $450 thanks to an awesome Sunwing promotion. :)

I’ve never flown Sunwing before, and I heard that their customer service isn’t that great, and that their flights are sometimes late … but I figured I’d give them a try. They’re quite a bit cheaper than Westjet, afterall. So we’ll see what happens.


What are you doing for the long weekend? August 29, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : miscellaneous , add a comment

I can’t believe this week is almost over. It’s been a very relaxing time. I’ve been able to reflect over the past few months, and spent time with people who like me and care about me.

This weekend I’m going camping with a bunch of friends. We leave tomorrow after a couple of the girls get off work. We’re disappointed that the weather isn’t going to be great, but that’s okay. We’ll have fun anyway. It’ll be a cheap way to spend the long weekend.

Then, on Tuesday I start my new job. :) I’m very excited to get started. The work seems fun, and the atmosphere there seems like it will be a welcomed change.


Paying full price for orthotics August 27, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : emergency fund, health care , add a comment

UGGG. I just found out that my orthotics that I got made up yesterday will not be eligible for coverage under my extended health plan. This is awful news.

The woman at the chiropractor’s office said that they cannot issue a confirmation letter until the orthotics are delivered to me (in 2 or 3 weeks), and apparently I need that letter in order to submit it to my health plan. My extended health coverage ends on Friday. This Friday.

I’m still going to submit the receipt and see if I can claim it, but chances are it’ll be rejected.

These orthotics are $350. $200 was supposed to be covered, but now I’ll have to pay the entire thing. It’s still worth it, because I’m completely flat-footed and I need new orthotics (my old ones are 8 years old and completely pounded flat) … but still, having to pay for the entire cost definitely hurts.

And that’s why I’m glad I have my trusty EF available.


Responding to a comment August 27, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : blog , add a comment

Someone recently left a comment for me, and I thought it would be best if I answered it in a new post.

Anonymous said…

yes, your ex-boss will get what’s coming to him. probably a small handslap and a new title. in the meantime, he’ll badmouth you all over town.

the more i read about this, the more i suspect that there is quite a bit you are not telling, and you are very good at playing the victim.

given your overwhelming sense of self-entitlement (really, you blew your budget at the spa because you had a bad day at work? how responsible!), i would not be surprised to see the new job turn sour quickly.

the reality is – you are low on the totem pole. no one really cares, and you need to stop acting like a spoiled brat. people have it a whole lot worse than you, and they deal with it.

You’re right. There is a lot of information I’m not sharing. Not because I want you to all feel sorry for me, and not because I think I’m the victim, but because it’s not appropriate to share that kind of information on the internet. Nine people have quit since January, and out of those nine people, all nine of them have said that my boss was one of the reasons why they were leaving.

This job that I’m leaving is the only job I’ve ever had where I’ve had to deal with these kinds of problems. And I have no doubt my boss is going to badmouth me. He’s unprofessional and immature, but there’s nothing I can do about that.

I don’t think I have an overwhelming sense of entitlement. I never said that I couldn’t afford to go to the spa. It would be different if I were going, but I couldn’t afford it. Yes, one of the reasons why I’m going is because I’ve had a pretty rough week at work, but also because I feel like this is a transition point in my life, and having this week off, I want to relax and feel better about myself. I want to let all my stress go. Plus, I’ve never been before, so why not? People go to the spa all the time.

How am I acting like a spoiled brat? If you think I’m spoiled, then you’re entitled to your opinion. But I’ve worked hard for everything that I’ve ever gotten. This is my personal blog, and sure there are millions of people who have it worse than me, but if I were to write about all of them, then it wouldn’t really be a personal finance blog anymore, would it?

Anyway, I always like getting comments – negative or positive. Although I’m finding that as my readership grows, I’m getting more and more negative ones. :) And that’s okay. It helps me learn, and it makes it interesting, and I really enjoy the conversations and thoughts that you take the time to post. Sometimes the really negative ones get me down for a while, but you can’t please everyone.


Keeping track of what I’m eating August 26, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : fitness, saving money , add a comment

The past 2 days I’ve been keeping a journal of what I’m eating. I did the same thing a few summers ago when I wanted to lose weight. It makes me think a little harder about what I’m eating – is that food healthy? Am I actually hungry, or am I just bored?

And I think it’s also going to help me save money. I’m going to think farther ahead – so if I’m out and about all day, maybe I’ll throw a water bottle and a few granola bars in my purse, so I don’t have to go out and buy something. It’s healthier and costs less.

I’d still like to lose about 5 lbs. before the wedding, and I have about 3.5 weeks to do it in.

This coming weekend I’m going camping with a few girlfriends, and I’ll have to wear a bathing suit, which I’m not exactly thrilled about. But it’s the first time I’ve had to put it on all year, so I guess I had a good run while it lasted.

Anyway, I have to do a few things around town today, so I’ll be doing a lot of walking. And then perhaps in the evening, I’ll go for a run or a long walk.

I think BF and I are going to join a rock climbing gym. Apparently with his job, he gets membership to the gym for free, and I would get it for 50% off (a 3-month pass is $200, so I would only have to pay $100). BF said we should split the cost of the gym, but I don’t think it’s fair for him to have to pay for my membership, since he gets his for free. But whether I pay $50 or $100, it’s still a really good deal. I think that if we both commit to going at least twice a week, it would be worth it. And rock climbing is a lot more fun than going to a regular gym, so I think it might work out.


Pictures of where I live August 25, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : housing , add a comment

Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve moved into this place in Vancouver, and I promised to post pictures the moment I got settled. Now that I have time on my hands, I finally got around to taking a few pictures for the purposes of posting on this blog.

My place is super small, but it’s cute. So let me take you on a tour of my place. :)

This is my living room/office/dining area. Behind the TV on the ledge is my bookshelf and computer printer. Space is really tight in this area. If I only had another few feet of space, even that would be helpful. But I don’t.
Coat hanger, microwave, toaster oven, recycling, etc.

My kitchen. Notice how I have almost no counter space. It’s kind of a nightmare at times.
My teeny washroom. BF helped me install the accordion mirror. I’ve had that mirror for 6 or 7 years now, and I LOVE it. I didn’t post a picture of the other side of the washroom, but there’s just the tub. It’s not very interesting.
My bedroom. Notice my incredibly small closet. I would have taken a picture of the bed, etc. from the other angle, but seriously space in my room is so tight. That is the bed that BF built me. It has shelves for my clothing underneath, and at the other end of the bed there’s a cute step ladder so that I can get on my bed, and a hanging rod where all my skirts and dress pants are hanging. Oh, and that door? There’s no door knob on either side. So it’s kind of a fake door. It leads into the front entrance of the house, where the laundry room is. Not that I do laundry here.
Well, there you go! Pictures of my tiny place. I think when everything settles down in a month or two I’d like to move to a new place. Somewhere that will give me more space to move around. I feel very crowded in this space at times, although it’s a lot easier to maintain a small space, and at $600 I consider this a steal. However, now I’m working in a different area of town, and my commute by bus will be an hour each way. So there are reasons to stay and reasons to leave. But I have time to figure it out.

Now that I’ve had the weekend to reflect August 25, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : job , add a comment

Well, this morning I e-mailed the President (and the Controller). The President wanted a written statement from me about what happened on Friday. Luckily, I had saved the e-mail that started the entire thing – because as soon as I got home Friday afternoon, my e-mail profile was already disabled!

Anyway, he wants me to come in for an exiting interview. I have about 4 or 5 typed pages I was going to send in lieu of an interview, but I think this is the better way to go. I told him that I have no problem coming in to speak with him, just as long as I will not have to cross paths with my (ex) boss. He understood.

Also, this morning I e-mailed one of the Managers that I work closely with, and sent him a list of outstanding tasks that I had planned to complete this week, but obviously won’t anymore. I did not e-mail my (ex) boss, because what’s the point? I told the Manager that I didn’t want those tasks to fall through the cracks during this transition phase, and offered to talk to him about anything he didn’t understand.

I figured that this is the most mature and responsible way of going about the situation, given what happened.


Sending myself to the spa August 23, 2008

Posted by gmbmfb in : spending , 1 comment so far

I don’t think I’ve ever been more stressed out before. So I decided to book myself into a spa. I’ve never been to a spa before, and it’s a perfect time. I have an entire week off, after all.

So, I’m going downtown to Spa Utopia in the Pan Pacific Hotel this week. I’ve heard amazing things about this place. And let me tell you – it’s not a cheap place to spend an afternoon getting pampered … but I know it’ll be worth it.

I’m getting a deep tissue massage, a facial, and a full body exfoliation treatment.

Can’t. Wait. :)